Plan A
by cuddlykids
Summary: Ishtar has come to Zi Alda and it's time for Leene to get nasty. What will her first plan be? Warning - there are spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

_What am I going to do, Diaage? Stand by and watch Ishtar take him? C'mon, give me some ideas here!_

_Well, maybe... how about this? I get someone to pretend to be Yuujel. This someone will be so horrible to the princess that she will give up on him._

_Doesn't that Ishtar know what Yuujel is like? He is very hard to imposter._

_Don't worry, dear Leene. Just make sure that everyone is out of the way._

_If I do that then you'd better make sure Ishtar gets full on tricked._

_Trust me, by morning Ishtar will be packing her bags back to Pheliosta_.

* * *

It was so boring. Duzell happened to be sleeping and Ishtar didn't want to wake him up, so decided to evade Darres and have a little walk. The walk also got boring and it was no fun going anywhere without her at, so Ishtar began walking home. She had barely reached the entrance however, when a suspicious looking maid came waltzing up to her.

"Your majesty, the young prince is waiting for you," she declared. "Prince Yuujel of Zi Alda, you must go meet him."

_Yuujel of Zi Alda_? This was not good. Ishtar didn't want to see her cousin but the maid's grip was strong and she found herself being pulled into her chambers – _her chambers_. What was this man doing in her chambers? She saw a figure sitting on the chair and the maid let go.

"I _am _the Princess of Pheliosta, you know!" Ishtar shouted at the maid, her arm burning. The maid curtsied low.

"I apologise, your majesty but it was... necessary. I take my leave." She departed quickly before Ishtar could say anything. The figure on the chair stood up.

"I am honoured to meet you again, dear cousin. Do you remember me?" he said and a lantern was uncovered. The light revealed a young man with blonde hair and violet eyes.

"You are to call me, 'your royal highness'," Ishtar said coolly. "And who in Pheliosta are you supposed to be? Why did you get the maids to drag me in here? How did you get in here in the first place?"

"I was able to gain entrance for I am the Prince of Zi Alda, your majesty. Queen Sonia and Sir Keld both admitted me, and since you seem to have no other business, can I delight you in a walk?" he asked.

"What do you mean I have no other business?" Ishtar demanded. Prince Yuujel chuckled.

"Well, you don't seem very busy, after all. Do you..." his voice trailed off and he looked at her, a smile planted on his face. Ishtar weighed down her options, wondering whether to go. She _did _have nothing to do and this may be a chance to bag that cousin of hers.

"Fine then, where do you want to walk?" she asked grudgingly, glaring at him hard.

"Wherever your ladyship wishes," came his polite reply. Ishtar shrugged it off.

"Okay, let's walk in the castle grounds then," she suggested and walked out; fully awake that he was following closely. They stopped in the courtyard. "This walk is stupid. I'm going back."

"No, you are to stay here with me, Lady Ishtar," Yuujel said firmly, smiling in his annoying way. Ishtar glared at him.

"And what makes you think that I want to stay here with you?" she demanded. "You know, I _rule _Pheliosta."

"That I know quite well and that is why you are to become my bride."

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Ishtar shouted, springing backwards. This Yuujel guy was worse than she'd thought.

"Princess, what are you doing out here without Darres... and who is your friend?" someone said and Ishtar turned to see Yujinn approaching.

"Yujinn, weren't you in Pheliosta? Well, this creep says he wants to marry me," Ishtar explained, eyeing Yuujel suspiciously.

Yujinn smiled at Yuujel. "Good evening, dear sir! Welcome to Zi Alda! My name is Yujinn and I am her majesty's tutor. May I ask for your title, good man?" he said pleasantly.

"Quiet you!" Yuujel snarled. "You have no authority to talk to me, fool. Where are you from? What have you got to do with Zi Alda?"

"My homeland should be no importance to you and to my belief; I have nothing at all to do with Zi Alda. This may be the first time I have ever travelled here," Yujinn replied cheerfully. "Now, may I have your name, please?"

"He's Prince Yuujel of Zi Alda," Ishtar said quickly, causing Yujinn to splutter. He quickly recovered.

"You are... the prince?" he asked in disbelief.

"What do you think? Of course I am the prince!" Yuujel shouted. "Who else would I be? Only descendants of Phelios may propose to the princess!"

Yujinn smiled. "And because of your abrupt appearance and rudeness to her majesty, we will need some verification. Now, may you please come with us to see Queen Sonia?" he suggested.

"Get lost!" Yuujel shouted and muttered a transportation spell. Yujinn began to disappear into midair. He tried to grasp something.

"He's not the real Yuujel! I – " he shouted but the rest was lost. He disappeared, causing Ishtar to freak again.

"Oh, excuse me for this rude interruption, your majesty," Yuujel said. "Now, where were we? Ah yes, the wedding proposal."

"You aren't Yuujel, are you?" Ishtar asked warily, remembering Yujinn's words. Yuujel smirked.

"_Of course I am_. Now, are you going to marry me or not?" he demanded.

Ishtar stepped back and spoke one word, "No."

"So be it," Yuujel spat and reached for her. Ishtar made a run for it, only she ran straight into a wall and Yuujel had her cornered in no time. He smiled widely, blocking all paths of escape. She avoided his gaze, looking desperately for an escape route. "Well, I guess you are mine now. Only, I would love you much more as a vampire."

"Vampire?" Ishtar repeated and stiffened as he grabbed her shoulders and bared his fangs. Yes, definitely a vampire.

There was a flash and a cat scratched his finger. Yuujel easily shook him off and laughed loudly. "Where are all your guards, your majesty? Only a wild cat, only a wild cat."

He leaned forward and Ishtar could feel his disgusting garlic breath. This vampire had a weird taste in food. She closed her eyes, tired from struggling. She wondered how on earth she would spend life now, as a vampire. The bite never came though. His hands were wrenched from her shoulders and she opened her eyes to see him writhing in pain on the floor.

"How?" Ishtar asked and looked around. Sitting on the ground was a young man with long platinum blonde hair and a long flowing black cloak. He was looking at the vampire in satisfaction and stood up, his palm facing Yuujel.

"Did he bite you?" he asked, sweeping his eyes over Ishtar's neck. Seeing no wound, he sighed in relief and then looked harshly at the vampire.

"No... please... spare me..." Yuujel gasped. "My lord... please..." The man looked down at him coldly.

"You should know better than to attack Princess Ishtar of Pheliosta, you worthless puppet," he spat and muttered something else. Yuujel gave a yelp.

"Next time... I will never do it again..." he screamed. "Let me leave... I won't do it next time..."

"Trust me, there won't be a next time," the man said and blood came streaming out of Yuujel's ears. He was breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry, princess!" he wheezed. "I'm sorry! I won't do it again! Please tell me him to spare me! Please!"

Ishtar looked frighteningly at the man and then looked down at the vampire. He definitely wasn't Yuujel, she was sure her cousin wasn't a vampire. Of course he wasn't. With his last breath, the vampire made a rude gesture and then died. The man bent down and licked the blood, momentarily revealing his fangs. Ishtar reeled back. Was the castle streaming with vampires today or something?

"Okay, that was not Yuujel. So Ishtar, care to go back to your room now?" he said finally, standing up and looking around but Ishtar had already fainted from the fright.


	2. Chapter 2

_Dammit Diaage! You weren't supposed to get him killed!_

_I wasn't the one responsible for that. It is my belief that someone of a more powerful ability defeated our Yuujel look-a-like._

_I don't care who did it but everyone knows that he was obviously not Yuujel! Now what?_

_Leene, Ishtar has been asleep for three days and she can't have possibly known his true identity. She may still think that it was truly Yuujel._

_You have got to be kidding me, Diaage. So what's plan b then? You have one, don't you?_

_Say, you wouldn't mind riding with Ishtar, would you? I'm sure she'll have a... pleasant ride._

* * *

Ishtar opened her eyes. She looked around her and realised that she was in her own chambers, lying comfortably in her bed. Duzell was snoozing on a chair – everything seemed normal. She quickly dressed and walked out, bumping into Darres.

"Your majesty!" Darres shouted, a smile blooming on his face. Jill and Krai rushed up. "The princess is awake! Jill! Krai! Call Lady Sonia!" The two rushed off.

"I want to see Aunt Sonia too, coming Darres?" Ishtar asked and Darres followed dutifully behind her, walking after Jill and Krai.

"Ishtar! You're awake! Thank god for that! You've been out for three days already!" Sonia said, delighted. She rushed forwards.

"Huh? Have I been sleeping for that long?" Ishtar asked, confused. She then remembered the Yuujel imposter and the rescue. Her hand went straight to her neck but there was no wound there. She quickly swept her hair back to pass off the movement.

"Lady Ishtar, are you alright? I'd been wondering about your health," Leene said. "Being attacked by a mysterious man sure is frightening, right?"

"You bet sister! So... where's Yujinn?" Ishtar asked, looking around. Had the spell done something to him?

"Yujinn is back at Pheliosta, remember?" Darres replied. "We left him behind."

"Oh, well... what's for breakfast? I'm starved."

* * *

"That's funny..." Ishtar said, looking up at the horse.

"Lady Ishtar!" someone called and she turned round to see Leene with a brunette.

"Lady Leene?" Ishtar asked. The brunette looked familiar for some reason.

"So, princess... I hear you're quite the rider! Too bad you'll be stuck spurring on that old nag. Lady Sonia should have put her out to pasture years ago. Still, you'll probably outride me. After all, I'm used to riding... goats," Leene said.

"Yeah... sorry about that. But as for the nag... I don't think it'll be a problem. This is a different horse! I don't know what his name is, but he's way bigger and stronger! I'll bet if he wanted to, he could snap me like a twig!" Ishtar said.

"Your majesty... how did you?" A lady appeared, out of nowhere it seemed. She bowed her head. "I'm Lucy, from the general staff office. I'm terribly sorry, but the stable master seems to have made a mistake. I'm not sure whose horse this is, but I'd consider it an honour if you'd ride mine. Her name is Bramble, and she's one of the fastest in Zi Alda."

"Lucy! What a surprise..." Leene said, looking at the lady.

"Wow! Mr Mystery Horse could knock down an ox, but Bramble is such a cutie! I can tell she's got plenty of spirit! No doubt she's awfully fast and you take such good care of her!" Ishtar exclaimed. "You're so well groomed! Someone must really love you, huh?"

Lucy smiled. "Well, have fun! I'll just take this guy back to the stables and see if I can figure out who he belongs to," she said.

"Don't bother. I'm going to ride him!" Ishtar said, leaving everyone surprised. "There's something about his eyes that reminds me of a friend of mine. A good friend! I've got to try him out! It's okay! I like this horse! And I think he likes me too! Okay, Leene... you up for a little steeple chase?"

Just then the horse bolted with Ishtar still on its back. Ishtar shut her eyes and hung onto the reins. The horse jumped over the fence and just kept on running.

"Okay, Mr Mystery Horse that was a 30-foot cliff you just jumped off! If you want to kill yourself, fine! But can you please slow down and let me off first?" she shouted but nothing happened.

Ishtar just hung on for dear life and heard a horse approaching. Someone jumped onto the horse's back and muttered something. The horse immediately slowed down and Ishtar opened her eyes, looking behind her. It was him! He was so recognisable with his cloak and hair. His eyes looked familiar too...

"Next time, your majesty, maybe you should consider walking instead." He said.

"Well uh, thanks." Ishtar mumbled feebly. She watched him dismount and climb back onto his own horse.

"Care to join me or do you want to ride that horse home?" he asked.

"I think I'll take your advice and walk," Ishtar replied nervously, afraid he might take her somewhere. She dismounted and tried to lead the horse away. It started bolting again.

"Suit yourself." The man shrugged. "I'm sure you'd want to chase that horse first or you could get Yujinn to do it. See you around." He galloped off.

With nothing better to do, Ishtar ran after the horse and found it already slowed down. Next to it was another horse and rider. She approached cautiously.

"You know, your majesty, there are better ways to see the countryside," the rider said and Ishtar bounded forward.

"Yujinn!" she shouted, rushing over.

"In person. Although they have a different name for me here. Do you remember a silly little boy named Yuujel?" he grinned.

"What? You're... No way!"


End file.
